My hometown is far away in Moscow.

Chapter 53 The Troubles of the Bragging King

Chapter 53 The Troubles of the Bragging King

Uga shook his head dismissively: "You're such a coward. The Azerbaijani are never afraid of danger. We'll fight! We'll show the skinheads what we're made of!"

"Fine, fine, go if you want." Hu Yi looked at him irritably. "Since you have a gun for self-defense, why bother asking for help?"

Uga put the pistol back into his pocket and mumbled, "This gun... the bullets are running low."

"Not many left? How many are there?"

"Actually—not for now." Uga coughed a few times, then added seriously, "We used to, but we've run out."

Hu Yi chuckled: "Ugh, you're such a braggart. Tell me honestly, what are you actually going to do tomorrow?"

"I'm serious! Go fight the skinheads!" Uga's smug expression vanished, replaced by anxiety. "Listen, you don't need to fight. Just show your face, and then you can leave, okay?"

Hu Yi became increasingly puzzled: "Explain yourself clearly, what exactly is going on?"

Uga cleared his throat and said hesitantly in a low voice, "I promised the Turks I would bring ten friends, but right now—it's not quite enough."

"How many are there now?"

"Just me," Uga said indignantly. "I've asked several classmates, but they're all cowards. They all got scared as soon as they heard about fighting skinheads!"

"Hahahaha! You're such an idiot! Will you die if you don't brag?" Hu Yi burst into laughter, almost spitting out the roasted meat in his mouth. "Since that's the case, why don't you go by yourself?"

"Absolutely not, that would be too embarrassing! I need to bring at least one person, otherwise the Turks will laugh at me, and my friends will look down on me." Uga didn't care about Hu Yi's ridicule at all: "Hey, Anton, listen, didn't you get robbed a while ago? I know you're short on money lately, I can pay for it. All you need to do is come with me and show up. There's no danger, no fighting."

"You've got the wrong person. I'm not going." Hu Yi looked at him with a smile. "Your uncle is a businessman; he must know a lot of people. Why don't you ask him for help?"

"My uncle? He definitely won't agree to me going to fight." Uga casually pulled two 100-ruble bills from his wallet: "Just make a casual trip tomorrow, and this money is yours, how about it?"

"Two hundred rubles?! What's that?" Hu Yi tapped his knife on the plate twice. "Not even enough for two plates of roast meat. You're kidding me."

Uga probably felt he had been too stingy, so he smiled and pushed the money in front of Hu Yi: "This meal is on me. Here, take this—"

"These! Are you sure?" he said, pulling out a five-hundred-ruble note and waving it in his hand.

Hu Yi glanced at the banknotes in his hand, shook his head, and remained silent. It wasn't that he was unmoved by the money, but he instinctively resisted establishing a monetary employment relationship with his classmate, and he was even more unwilling to be bossed around by a boastful guy like Wu Ga, especially since what he was asked to do sounded somewhat dangerous.

Uga mumbled a few words awkwardly in his native language, then steeled himself and slammed another five hundred rubles on the table, almost pleading, "One thousand rubles! Plus the two hundred! It's just for a short trip, that's all I can do. Please help me!"

"You're quite generous." Hu Yi burped, looked at the few banknotes with a half-smile, hesitated for a moment, and then shook his head, saying, "I'm not going."

Uga, feeling snubbed, was about to take the money back when Li Baoqing suddenly spoke up, "Give me the money, and I'll go with you."

"Really?!" Uga was overjoyed and pushed all the rubles on the table in front of him. Hu Yi was greatly surprised: "Are you crazy?"

They're going to fight the skinheads!

"We're dirt poor, why not go and make some money?" Li Baoqing glared at him. "1200 rubles is more than 40 US dollars! We can only earn 200 a month chopping vegetables. Anyway, it's just going to help out and pretend we'll come back. We don't have to actually do anything. It's called—um—selling our skills, not our bodies."

"Shouldn't it be called selling one's body but not one's art?" Hu Yi hesitated, "But—it's still quite dangerous no matter how you look at it."

"They're offering a lot, so it's worth it even if it's dangerous," Li Baoqing laughed nonchalantly. "Besides, the skinheads are going to fight the Caucasians; they probably won't be able to help us."

"That idea is a bit naive." Hu Yi frowned and stared at him. "It sounds like a big undertaking; something unexpected might go wrong."

Li Baoqing laughed and said, "Hey, there won't be any problem. Although you can't usually count on the Moscow police, they can't just stand by and watch hundreds of people fight, can they? I don't think they'll actually start fighting."

Hu Yi pondered his line of thought for a while, then clicked his tongue and said, "Hmm? That sounds reasonable. Damn it, it's just for show, right? 1200 rubles is worth it."

"That's right, where else can you find such a bargain?" Li Baoqing chuckled. "Why don't you come along? You might as well go."

"Hmm." Hu Yi hesitated for a moment, then turned to look at Uga. Although Uga couldn't understand their conversation, he could guess their change in attitude from their expressions and tone, so he happily counted out another 1,200 rubles: "Anton, want to come along?"

Hu Yi hesitated for a few seconds, then grabbed the banknotes and stuffed them into her pocket. Feeling like a young girl selling her body for money, she awkwardly turned her head to look into the distance: "When? Where?"

"Meet at the park next to the Izmailovan market at noon tomorrow." Uga's anxiety vanished, and he puffed out his chest like a boss who had just taken in two underlings: "I'm reminding you, the skinheads will also be gathering around that time, so it's best not to take the subway tomorrow."

Hu Yi and Li Baoqing felt great after easily earning over forty dollars. They went to work and ate lunch in Huanghai as usual, without much concern, until they started to feel uneasy the next morning before leaving home. Both of them had been taken advantage of by the skinheads before, and they still felt lingering fear about their past experiences; it would be a lie to say they weren't at all guilty.

They were eager to back out, but it was too late to change their minds. Since they had accepted the money, they had to do the job, and even if there was real danger, they couldn't break their promise. After much deliberation, the two of them changed into athletic clothes that would allow them to escape at any time, and put on hats to cover their conspicuous black hair, trying their best not to be noticed by the skinheads for their racial characteristics.

Knowing that taking the subway wasn't very safe, but Youda University and One Ant Park were located in the southwest and northeast of the city respectively, and taking a taxi was simply too uneconomical. Adhering to the principle of saving money wherever possible, Hu Yi and Li Baoqing set off early to take the subway, carefully observing the passengers around them the whole way. They got off two stops before their destination and walked nervously to the meeting point they had agreed to meet with Wu Ga.

Fortunately, they arrived early and didn't see any skinheads along the way. The two sat on a park bench, cautiously looking around. Near a statue not far away, there were five or six young men. Although they couldn't tell what nationality they were, they all had thick hair on their heads, which was the most direct sign of safety.

"Where are the people? Why are there only a few?" Li Baoqing lowered the brim of his hat, trying to cover his dark eyes.

Hu Yi peeled off a piece of chewing gum, popped it into his mouth, and chewed it a few times: "Don't rush, it's not time yet."

Li Baoqing's legs trembled uncontrollably as he muttered to himself, "Maybe they canceled it at the last minute?"

"Let's talk about it at midnight." Hu Yi reached out and pressed on his leg. "Don't tremble. Are you nervous?"

Aren't you nervous?

"We're already here, what's the use of being nervous?" Hu Yi took out sunglasses from his pocket and put them on, then leaned back in his chair, feigning nonchalance. "Don't be afraid, the two sides won't choose to meet in the same place, and there shouldn't be any skinheads around us."

Li Baoqing felt slightly relieved and carefully put on a mask. The two looked at each other and grinned foolishly. Li Baoqing said, "We're like spies waiting for a rendezvous in a TV show."

"Spies are all bad guys," Hu Yi corrected. "We should call them underground workers."

"Yes, yes." The two chatted absentmindedly for a few minutes, then Li Baoqing turned to look behind Hu Yi: "Hey, you there—your classmate's here, what's his name again?"

Hu Yi turned around and saw that Wu Ga had already jogged up to him. Today he was wearing a slightly oversized blue-gray suit, a white shirt underneath, and a black tie. His hair was wet and covered in hair gel, and he wore a pair of shiny black pointed leather shoes. He looked every bit the part of an Azerbaijani village gangster businessman.

"You—why are you dressed like that?" Hu Yi stared in disbelief. "Weren't we supposed to be fighting?"

Uga said solemnly, "Of course. Fighting is a very serious matter. We must show the skinheads the gentlemanly qualities of Azerbaijan."

"You have a very refined air about you." Hu Yi smiled, a slight smirk playing on his lips. "I thought you were going to a funeral."

Wuga lowered his head and pondered for a long while, seemingly wavering about his choice of attire. Just as he was about to offer some explanation, someone called out to him from a distance beneath the statue. Wuga responded and turned to beckon to Hu and Li: "Come with me."

"Where to?" Hu Yi asked.

"When can we leave?" Li Baoqing asked.

"Go and meet up with the others." Uga strode forward, chest puffed out, "After you've met the Turks, you can leave, but remember not to be noticed by anyone."

By now, more than twenty people had gathered at the foot of the statue. Hu Yi and Li Baoqing followed them out of the park, crossed a wide road, passed several rows of simple kiosks, and turned several times among a cluster of low, old buildings. Suddenly, a large open space appeared before them. In one corner of the open space, a hundred or so young men with curly hair stood densely packed together, holding either wooden sticks or iron pipes. Each of them had a solemn expression and did not smile.

Li Baoqing nudged Hu Yi: "My god, look at him, he's way cooler than the gangsters in the movies."

Hu Yi nodded without speaking. Although these people weren't as tall and imposing as the Russian strongmen, they were physically strong and had fierce expressions, clearly indicating that they were brave and skilled fighters. In terms of physique alone, he could only be considered a weak scholar compared to them; Li Baoqing was barely average: the thin and short Uga looked like a little chick standing in the crowd.

The arrival of about twenty Azerbaijani men caused a slight stir in the crowd. Acquaintances greeted each other, and Uga, leaving the two of them behind, strode to the front of the crowd, shouting, "Hey! Comrades, I've arrived! The men of Azerbaijan are here!"